Posts Tagged River Forest Fire Department

River Forest Fire Department news

Excerpts from oakpark.com:

River Forest village officials entered into an intergovernmental agreement with the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (IDHFS) to participate in the Illinois Ground Emergency Medical Transport Program (GEMT) in March 2020. At the July 11 village board meeting, trustees voted unanimously to approve amending the ambulance fees ordinance to meet IDHFS requirements.

GEMT is a federally funded Medicaid program that has been in existence for years but was introduced to Illinois via legislation in 2019. The program allows municipalities an opportunity to collect an additional Medicaid reimbursement for ambulance services, above and beyond what the state reimburses the village for Medicaid claims.

Illinois is one of 10 states participating in the program with over 250 departments in the state joining.

The program provides supplemental federal funding for Advance Life Support (ALS) or Basic Life Support (BLS) emergency ground ambulance service trips under the Illinois Medicaid state plan and provides additional reimbursement for unrecovered costs associated with those transports. Through this program, the federal government will pay the state the difference between the set amount for Medicaid transports and the actual costs incurred by the village.

The village is required to submit an annual Integrated Disclosure and Medicaid Cost Report (IDMCR) to IDHFS to determine the covered ambulance rate for the subsequent year. The intergovernmental agreement eliminates the division between Medicaid ambulance calls and ambulance transportation fees charged to service and managed care organizations. As a result, the village is required to apply the rate structure determined in the annual IDMCR across all users of the village’s ambulance services.

The ordinance change incorporates the requirements outlined in the intergovernmental agreement with a fee structure that is reflected in the annual IDMCR as filed with IDHFS. Amending the ordinance this way will eliminate the need to amend the ordinance whenever the village changes the rates. Under the previous ordinance, River Forest charged residents $900 and nonresidents $1,150 for BLS service and charged residents $1,150 and nonresidents $1,550 for ALS service. Increasing fees required amending the ordinance. Under the change, the fee will reflect the actual cost according to the IDMCR filing.

If the 2022 IDMCR rate had been applied to the 2021 emergency medical service response calls, the village would have recaptured approximately $250,000. After subtracting the state of Illinois program costs, the village would have likely recaptured $125,000 from the program.

Medicare/Medicaid transports account for 16 percent of the department’s ambulance calls but 54 percent of the revenue.

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Garage fire in River Forest, 5-12-18

Photos from Tim Olk of a garage fire in River Forest on Keystone 5/12/18

Firefighters fight garage fire

Tim Olk photo

Firefighters fight garage fire

Tim Olk photo

Firefighters fight garage fire

Tim Olk photo

Firefighters fight garage fire

Tim Olk photo

Firefighters fight garage fire

Tim Olk photo

Firefighters fight garage fire

Tim Olk photo

Forest Park FD Truck 403

Tim Olk photo

River Forest FD Engine 222

Tim Olk photo

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New engine for River Forest

From WS Darley & Co.

The Darley Company is proud to build another AutoCAFS pumper for the River Forest, IL, Fire Department. It is built on a Spartan MetroStar custom chassis with 450 hp Cummins engine also has a 20-inch raised roof to allow for the Darley Command Cab to be constructed with fully enclosed, climate controlled, Vision style interior pump panel controls. It is equipped by a Darley model LDMBC 1,500-gpm pump featuring the AutoCAFS pumping system is plumbed to six compressed air foam discharges. It has a PolyBilt copolymer body with seven large compartments surrounding the integral 525-gallon water tank and 30-gallon foam tank. The poly body has a slide in ladder tunnel through the water tank. An Onan 8,000-watt hydraulic generator powers an electric cord reel and numerous outlets.

River Forest FD fire engine

2017 Spartan MetroStar/Darley 1500/525. WS Darley photo

thanks Ron

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As seen around … River Forest

Photos from Josh Boyajian

River Forest FD Ambulance 215

Josh Boyajian photo

River Forest FD Engine 213

River Forest FD Engine 213 – 2017 Spartan/Darley 1500/500. Josh Boyajian photo

River Forest FD Engine 213

Josh Boyajian photo

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New engine for River Forest

From the MDA Chicagoland and Northern Illinois Facebook page:

Thank you River Forest Fire Department and Local 2391 for raising $2,771 for MDA! #FilltheBoot#AFFIStandWithLizzie

River Forest firefighters collected money for the MDA

River Forest FD photo

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River Forest Fire Department news

Excerpts from Oakpark.com:

Jim Eggert will step down this summer after 13 years as chief of the River Forest Fire Department, but he’ll remain on a consulting basis to mentor his replacement, finish projects and serve as the department’s institutional memory.

As part of the responsibilities spelled out in a post-employment agreement approved unanimously by the River Forest Board of Trustees on April 24, Eggert will continue to provide Deputy Chief Kurt Bohlmann guidance in the areas of budgeting and human resources and other departmental operations and concerns after he becomes chief sometime this summer.

Eggert also will handle the post-delivery tasks for a new fire truck and provide some assistance with the West Suburban Consolidated Dispatch Center, which serves River Forest, Oak Park, Elmwood Park and Park Ridge. Forest Park will soon join the agency as well.

The 62-year-old Eggert, who has served as River Forest fire chief since 2004, will do 40 hours of in-person work annually and unlimited telephone conversations through December 2019.

In exchange, the village will pay for Eggert’s medical insurance and his wife’s Medicare supplement. He will not get sick leave or a departmental pension; he did not apply for a departmental pension. Cost of the agreement over the two-and-a-half years is estimated at $25,000.

The contract will allow Bohlmann to transition effectively into his new role and give him the time to also manage both roles while he also delegates the authority of the deputy chief’s position to the lieutenants.

Bohlmann’s current job will be eliminated in next year’s budget as a cost-cutting measure, saving the village an estimated $150,000. Discussions about cutting the deputy chief’s job and Eggert’s retirement were going on simultaneously. 

Eggert has been a firefighter his entire adult life. The son and brother of firefighters, the Hinsdale native worked a little more than six years for the department in his hometown and went to the Tri-State Fire Protection District in 1978.  He rose in the ranks during his 26-year career there, serving as chief for about 10 years until his retirement in 2004. He gets a pension from that district.

River Forest has a 22-member fire department with 18 firefighters, a chief, deputy chief, fire marshal, and a lieutenant to coordinate departmental training.

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Box Alarm in River Forest, 3-26-17

This from Steve Redick:

Lake and Park, a short block from the firehouse. I understand there was a fatality in this fire. Nothing to see when I arrived but got some nice rig shots. Fire was in the basement and well contained in short order.
River Forest FD Smeal quint at a fire scene

Steve Redick photo

River Forest FD fire engine

Steve Redick photo

River Forest fire trucks

Steve Redick photo

house fire scene

Steve Redick photo

River Forest FD quint at fire scene

Steve Redick photo

Forest park HME fire engine

Steve Redick photo

Cicero FD Truck 2

Steve Redick photo

North Riverside FD Engine 808

Steve Redick photo

Maywood Fire Department fire engine

Steve Redick photo

Oak Park FD HME fire engine

Steve Redick photo

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River Forest Fire Department news

This from Dan McInerney:

The River Forest FD responded to William and Holly Court Monday afternoon (1/9/17) for a man stuck in a construction lift. A River Forest Forestry Department arborist was stuck in a Hi-Ranger articulating boom approx. 25 feet off the ground when the motor on the vehicle died, and they were unable to lower the boom. River Forest FD T219 responded and raised their main and brought the arborist down.
River Forest FD Truck 219

Dan McInerney photo

Hi-Ranger bucket truck

Dan McInerney photo

Hi-Ranger bucket truck

Dan McInerney photo

Dan McInerney photo

worker rescued from Hi-Ranger bucket truck

Dan McInerney photo

worker rescued from Hi-Ranger bucket truck

Dan McInerney photo

River Forest FD Truck 219

Dan McInerney photo

River Forest FD Truck 219

Dan McInerney photo

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MABAS Division 11 Training (part 2)

This from Jeff Braun:

Here are more photos of Division 11’s structure fire training (10/19/16), the crews were training on forcible entry, roof/ ventilation ops, search and rescue, and hose line advancement. Thanks. -Jeff Braun Jr. (COUNTY-WIDE FIRE PHOTOGRAPHY) “

firefighter training

County-Wide photography

firefighter training

County-Wide photography

firefighter training

County-Wide photography

firefighter training

County-Wide photography

Cicero fire engine

County-Wide photography

firefighters training

County-Wide photography

firefighters training

County-Wide photography

firefighter with hose

County-Wide photography

firefighters training

County-Wide photography

firefighter with hose training

County-Wide photography

fire engines

County-Wide photography

Stickney FD apparatus

County-Wide photography

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MABAS Division 11 Training (part 1)

This from Jeff Braun Jr;

Here are some photos of Division 11’s structure fire training (10/19/16), the crews were training on forcible entry, roof/ ventilation ops, search and rescue, and hose line advancement. Thanks. -Jeff Braun Jr. (COUNTY-WIDE FIRE PHOTOGRAPHY) “

firefighters training

County-Wide photography

firefighters training

County-Wide photography

firefighters training

County-Wide photography

firefighters training

County-Wide photography

emergency squad truck

County-Wide photography

firefighters training

County-Wide photography

fire department command post

County-Wide photography

firefighters training

County-Wide photography

firefighters training

County-Wide photography

firefighters training

County-Wide photography

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